Keeper of Secrets
These zombies seem less bitey than others you've met. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere nearby. Cast * Nadia Al Hanaki * Sam Yao * Veronica McShell Plot Pull The Ladder Up According to Darren’s map, you should be right on top of... whatever it is that’s marked here. Nadia points out some blue thorned plants - do they ring a bell? What Was That? You ascend a rope ladder to find single-story, camouflage treetop base made up of a network of treehouses. It's Moving As you head to check out a comms hut, a rope net cuts through the air behind you. Nadia catches sight of something moving, and it doesn’t look human. Get To The Rope Ladder Sam identifies a lab in the base, which is abandoned and bloodstained. As you run, a large feline creature pounces and knocks you off the walkway. ZombieLynx Nadia attempts to hoist you back up, but her arm gets trapped in snare. You take her gun and shoot the zombie lynx in the chest, but it doesn’t die. And My Axe Sam is dumbfounded - animals shouldn’t turn, and you have no idea what might happen if it bites you. You trap the creature temporarily but it won’t hold for long. And You Are...? You decapitate the lynx. A voice chimes in to tell you that you’ve just destroyed what could have been the key to understanding immunity. It’s Veronica McShell. Transcript SAM YAO: Okay, according to Darren’s militia map, you should be right on top of whatever this is. We had Rofflenet contact with people in the area until two or three weeks ago. Doesn’t sound like they were very advanced, though. This says they lived in the trees. NADIA AL HANAKI: Five, have you ever seen creepers like that? What are those thorns? Blue tips. You don’t see a lot of blue in nature. SAM YAO: Uh, what about - ? NADIA AL HANAKI: The sea doesn’t count, Sam, nor the sky. SAM YAO: I was going to say blueberries. Blue jays. Bluebottle flies. NADIA AL HANAKI: Yes, but blue on foliage. SAM YAO: Actually, Nadia, I think you’ll find that “foliage” refers to the leaves of the plant. The thorns are attached to the stem. NADIA AL HANAKI: Smart arse. growls SAM YAO: Did I just hear - ? NADIA AL HANAKI: I thought I did, too. So we’ve run for three days to get here because we think this place has a device which repels zombies, and when we arrive, there’s a zombie. We’ll have to head away and circle back later. If we try to get through these creepers, we’ll be ripped to shreds. SAM YAO: Wait, Nadia, look back to your previous angle. NADIA AL HANAKI: What, this one? SAM YAO: Yeah, yeah. Check your eleven o'clock. Hanging down the tree trunk in the distance there - is that a rope ladder? NADIA AL HANAKI: Yes, it is! I don’t know about you, Five, but I’m shattered. Let’s run to that tree, climb up, and fall asleep in the branches. growls SAM YAO: And pull the ladder up after you. NADIA AL HANAKI: Rope ladders are fun, aren’t they? I used to love those Go Ape places. Remember those? Swinging between the trees on – oh! SAM YAO: What? Nadia, what is it? All I can see through your headcams is leaves. NADIA AL HANAKI: I think we’ve found the installation we were looking for. In fact, we’ve found two. SAM YAO: Two? NADIA AL HANAKI: Down below, we can see a whole big complex on the ground. SAM YAO: Oh yeah! I remember hearing something about that. Before the guys here went Rofflenet dead, they said there was some building below them. Didn’t know it was that massive, though. NADIA AL HANAKI: It’s this sprawling single-story place built between the trees. Security gates on every entrance. It’s actually painted in camo colors, which is why me and Five didn’t see it before. SAM YAO: Ah, are those zombies down there? NADIA AL HANAKI: Yes, the place is absolutely ran with them. Looks like there are hundreds in there, maybe thousands! We’re not getting inside any time soon. Although a lot of what you can see is simply dead arms poking through. SAM YAO: Ugh, nice. You said there were two installations. NADIA AL HANAKI: Yes. We’re standing in the other one. It’s up here in the trees. SAM YAO: Seriously? Show me. rustles Whoa! That is the best tree house I’ve ever seen! Best network of tree houses. When they said on Rofflenet that they were sleeping in the trees, I didn’t expect - NADIA AL HANAKI: Each tree has platforms built around its trunk, and self-contained rooms on top. The walkways which link them are slung on ropes so the trees can move in the wind. I think those are electrical cables rigged along the higher branches. It’s pretty well maintained here, Sam. There must be people here. SAM YAO: Make obvious human noises. Don’t get yourself shot as a zombie. NADIA AL HANAKI: And what would comprise an obvious human noise? SAM YAO: Mm, you could blow your nose? Zoms don’t do that. Or - NADIA AL HANAKI: I see a camera. SAM YAO: Where? NADIA AL HANAKI: There, just above those roof panels. It’s pointing at the walkway. And there’s another! SAM YAO: You’re right. I can see a couple through your headcams, too, Five. You’ve got relay kits in your packs, right? Now, if you can hook me into these cameras, I can study the place properly from here. NADIA AL HANAKI: I don’t know about you, Five, but I might take a couple of hours to lie down first and have - growls Or I might just stay wide awake! What was that? SAM YAO: Uh, I can’t see. I need those cameras. Um, there should be some kind of hub for the video feed. A multiplexer. Can you see any feeder cables? NADIA AL HANAKI: There’s one here. SAM YAO: Then follow it until you find the hub. growls Um, quickly! NADIA AL HANAKI: Okay, this is super creepy. Can you see that, Five? There’s a kitchen in there. Hot plates, microwave, fridge, and I can see a cup of tea and a sandwich. SAM YAO: Hmm, not what immediately springs to mind at the words “super creepy”. NADIA AL HANAKI: The sandwich is moldy. There are two bites missing, and the tea is half drunk. It’s like they just got up and went. SAM YAO: Really? See if they left any marmite. NADIA AL HANAKI: What? SAM YAO: Well, I’ve almost ran out! Down to my last five jars. NADIA AL HANAKI: Sam, take this seriously! There’s something strange about the setup here. SAM YAO: I am taking it seriously! It’s just my manner. I put people at ease, you know. Anyway, did you see that egg-shaped chair overturned outside that building below you? Distinctive, wouldn’t you say? The last time we saw one of those was in the Comansys base. NADIA AL HANAKI: You think the installation beneath us is - ? SAM YAO: Mm, maybe. Runner Five, the cables seem to feed into that hub behind you. Can you check it? NADIA AL HANAKI: As it happens, Sam, there is a jar of - springs SAM YAO: Whoa whoa whoa, what’s that? Nadia? I can’t see? NADIA AL HANAKI: It’s a net. Some kind of trap. Something on the floor triggered it. It’s okay. The net was too small to capture Runner Five. We’re okay, Sam. SAM YAO: What the hell? Watch yourself. NADIA AL HANAKI: Yeah. There’s a second one at the other end of the walkway. It’s a branch under tension. You can just step over it. SAM YAO: Get me hooked up. We need to see all of this place. NADIA AL HANAKI: I’ll do it. I know my way around a video relay. rustles SAM YAO: What was that? Did you hear that sound? That was something, right? NADIA AL HANAKI: I don’t know. I – yes. I see it. On that walkway three trees away. It’s too far to make out what it is. Doesn’t look human. SAM YAO: Nadia, stay there. Fix up those cameras. Five, after that – whatever it is. Quickly! It’s moving. SAM YAO: Good news, Five! Nadia’s got me hooked up. I’m getting fourteen, fifteen cameras. I don’t have control, but I’ve got the feed. Let me see if I can see that thing you’re chasing. Mm, okay. There’s where you climbed up, there’s a laboratory, there’s another laboratory – in fact, that looks like an experiment in progress. Samples, microscope, an open log book. It does look they all downed tools and left. Ah, oh dear. Um, I don’t want to alarm you, Five, but I think I can see blood at two locations near the perimeter. There’s rope, and the floor is stained. It looks like something’s been tied up and killed. Perhaps more than one thing. Small animals? But I can’t - no, I can’t see. Whatever it was you saw before, it’s not in sight of any of the cameras. Did you hear that? On the roof? Oh God, it’s aliens! It’s totally aliens. Well, whatever it is, it’s above you. If only I could move any of these cameras, change their view angle. Uh… okay, I’m patching Nadia in. Nadia, I want you to step out of your building and look north-northwest. Can you see Five? Nadia? NADIA AL HANAKI: Yeah. I think I can. Yeah, that’s you, standing on that long walkway between the elm and the oak, waving your gun at me. SAM YAO: Okay, Nadia, now, I want you to look up. Is there anything on the roof of that walkway? NADIA AL HANAKI: There is. It’s definitely an animal. Looks feline. Really big, though. It’s looking down right towards you, Five, as if it can see you through the wood. I think it can smell you. Wait, it’s moving. Oh my God, it’s like greased lightning! growls, attacks Runner Five SAM YAO: What the hell was that? What happened? NADIA AL HANAKI: Jesus, it jumped right at Five! Five dropped the gun and it knocked them both off the walkway. They’ve fallen through the trees. That willow tree helped break the fall, but Five? Five, are you alright? SAM YAO: I can see them. There are some cameras at ground level. Five, can you stand up? Please, Five, I know it must hurt, but you’ve got to try. That thing fell a dozen feet behind you, and it’s getting up, too! It’s coming towards you. You’ve got to get to that rope ladder and climb back up! Run! rustles, creature growls SAM YAO: God, that thing is fast. Five, watch out, it’s nearly on you! You’ll never make it to the rope ladder in time. That beech tree looks sturdy, and it’s got some low branches, you’ll have to climb it. Quickly! That’s good, Five, that’s very good. I know you can hear that thing. It is climbing after you, but it’s slower. Just stay calm, you’re too high now to take chances. The fall could kill you, so watch out for dead branches. Okay, okay, we need to distract it. Nadia, are you watching this from up there? NADIA AL HANAKI: Yeah, I’m looking right down at Five. SAM YAO: Good. I need you to trigger your noisemaker, then move away. Let’s see if we can draw it off. beeps NADIA AL HANAKI: Is it working? Is it following the sound? What is it, Sam? SAM YAO: You were right, it’s some kind of big cat. It’s got a spotted coat, uh, and weird pointy ears. I think it’s a – yeah, it’s a lynx! Good work, guys. It’s moved away from both of you, through the canopy. Nadia, you’re going to have to pull Runner Five up for the last stretch. I’ll warn you if the thing gets close. NADIA AL HANAKI: Give me your hand, Five. I can almost reach you. Quick, grab hold and I’ll pull. It’s looking right at us. SAM YAO: Great! You’re both on the walkway. Now run to the nearest building and barricade yourselves inside. trap springs NADIA AL HANAKI: Another snare! It’s got my wrist! It’s my right hand. Here, Five, take my gun. Shoot it! gunshot SAM YAO: Yes! Right in the chest! NADIA AL HANAKI: Sam, it’s still moving! It’s still moving, and it’s gray. It’s a zombie, Sam! It’s a bloody zombie lynx. SAM YAO: Runner Five, you’ve got to distract it! Use your noisemaker to draw it away from Nadia. Run! beeps SAM YAO: Good work, it’s following you. Nadia just needs a few seconds to get out of the snare. There’s a fork ahead. Take a left. Right is a dead end. I don’t understand. How can there be a zombie lynx? Animals don’t turn, they just don’t. It’s like a law of unnature! Whatever you do, you can’t let it bite you, Five. We’ve got no idea what would happen to you. It could be something even worse than turning gray! Aw, it’s really close, Five. Try throwing the noisemaker. It’s following. The noisemaker is over the edge. No, it’s stopped. It’s turning back towards you. Go left. I can see a pretty large net trap and the end of the walkway. Jump it. springs Got it! Okay, that’s not going to hold. Five, there’s stuff in the building ahead. Anything you can use? A fire extinguisher? Get it in the face, in the face! extinguisher sprays NADIA AL HANAKI: I’m looking in this storage room. There’s an ax here! SAM YAO: The fire extinguisher’s run out. Back towards Nadia, Runner Five. Move! NADIA AL HANAKI: Thank God. Five, take the ax. It’s too heavy with my injured hand. Oh, what’s that? SAM YAO: It’s okay, relax! It’s only a bird. Looks like a blue tit. NADIA AL HANAKI: But there’s a zombie lynx, Sam. That means animals can turn gray. Anything could be a zom! That bird could be a zom. It could be a gray tit. SAM YAO: Except it is actually blue. growls And you’ve got bigger problems. NADIA AL HANAKI: We can’t keep running! It’s too fast, and zoms never get tired. SAM YAO: You’ve got the ax, though. You’ll have to take its head off. That’s the only way to be sure with a zom. NADIA AL HANAKI: With a human zom. Do we know it’ll work on an animal? SAM YAO: Oh, it’s got to! I mean, it just has to. NADIA AL HANAKI: Oh God, it’s horrible! I can see half its jaw bone where the fur’s rotted off. Those teeth… SAM YAO: Are you ready, Five? Five decapitates the zombie lynx NADIA AL HANAKI: You did it, Five! SAM YAO: You certainly did. The body’s somewhere in the trees, and the head’s right there beside you, and neither of them’s moving. footsteps NADIA AL HANAKI: Wait. I can hear something else. Is it another one? SAM YAO: I think it’s a person. VERONICA MCSHELL: It has been sixteen months and nine days since the outbreak. In all that time, only one animal has ever been recorded as turning gray. The researchers here and throughout Europe via Rofflenet believed it to be the key to understanding immunity, that it might hold the missing link to a cure. You, however, have just killed it. On behalf of all remaining humans, congratulations. NADIA AL HANAKI: Uh, hi. I’m Nadia, from New Canton. This is Runner Five, from Abel Township. We’ve been trying to raise you on Rofflenet. VERONICA MCSHELL: I know all about you. NADIA AL HANAKI: And you are - ? VERONICA MCSHELL: My name is Veronica McShell. You killed my father. Codex Artefact Strange poem The song is all that we know. The song is all that we hear. Soon the people shall sow. Soon the voice will come near. We have heard the truth Our minds are open and clear Both the old and the youth Shall find the peace in fear. Category:Mission Category:Season Three